Foldable stowable roof tops are commonly used in sport-utility vehicles for recreational purposes. The foldable roof is typically moved between a stowed position, and a deployed position. When in the deployed position, the foldable roof protects the occupants of the vehicle from various weather conditions. The foldable roof also includes various sections which are made of a clear material to essentially function as a window, allowing the occupant of the vehicle to see outside of the vehicle. It is also sometimes desirable to open these clear, foldable, window sections when weather conditions are favorable, but the occupant(s) of the vehicle do not desire to change the foldable roof to the stowed position.
Because these window sections are also foldable, typical window crank devices and electric motors used for opening and closing a window made of glass (which is rigid and not foldable) are not suitable for use with a foldable roof. Therefore, other methods of opening the foldable window have been developed. One of these methods is a zipper which is typically one continuous zipper that surrounds all sides of the window but one. The one side of the window which is not surrounded by the zipper is the foldable side, allowing the window to be folded from the closed to the open position.
One of the drawbacks to this type of design is that most zippers are designed for attaching two portions of material along a substantially straight section of each portion of the material. When these types of zippers are used with a foldable window having various curves, the zipper is difficult to use. More specifically, both sides of the zipper are in the same plane, and the portion of the zipper attached to the foldable window has a shorter radius in relation to the portion of the zipper attached to the remaining portion of the foldable roof. The difference between the radius of the outer window connected to the zipper and the radius of the foldable roof connected to the zipper is typically the width of the zipper. This makes the zipper difficult to use around the corners of the window because there is an imbalanced amount of stress placed on the portion of the zipper connected to the window and the portion of the zipper connected to the foldable roof. A typical zipper is designed for connecting two sheets of material along a substantially straight surface.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a zipper which is suitable for providing a selective connection between a foldable roof and a foldable window having various curved areas.